


Just One Look At You

by Stark-N-Barnes (StarSpangledBucky)



Category: Ant-Man (Movies), Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Bucky Barnes & Steve Rogers Friendship, Bullying, First Dates, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff, Friendship, Gift Giving, Happy Ending, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Hurt/Comfort, Ice Skating, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, M/M, MIT, Ten Pin Bowling, This Or That, WinterIron Spring Fling 2017, dressing up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-11-06 20:50:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11044080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarSpangledBucky/pseuds/Stark-N-Barnes
Summary: Tony’s life changes on his first day at MIT when he meets Bucky Barnes. He’s never met anyone quite like him.





	Just One Look At You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [black_wings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/black_wings/gifts).



> Gift work for black_wings for the Winteriron Spring Fling. 
> 
> I used this prompt as inspiration, as well as a few from the short prompts. I tried to interpret it as best as I could: "MIT Era. Tony is a few years younger than everybody else (he skipped grades because he's a genius) and, instead of befriending Rhodey or besides befriending him, he becomes friends with Bucky. Some of the students make fun of Tony and the others only want him for his money. Bucky comforts him and assures him he's enough." 
> 
> For the fic, Tony is sixteen and Bucky is eighteen, as well as everyone else involved in the story.
> 
> Title inspired by Alt-J's cover of the song 'Lovely Day' originally by Bill Withers.

  

* * *

“I don’t need an escort.”

Howard breathed out a disgruntled sigh, his hand squeezing firmly on Tony’s shoulder as they walked through the MIT campus.

“I’m keeping you away from distractions, Tony.”

Tony shrugged Howard’s hand off his shoulder, putting some distance between them.

“Really? Y’know what dad, I can look after myself.”

“The last time I left you to your own devices you snuck out to a party with your friend,” Howard snapped.

“My _friend_ . His name is Rhodey, and he’s actually my _best_ friend, and like a brother. He’s a lot more than you’ll ever be,” the brunette retorted, earning a hard stare from his father.

“He’s a troublemaker, like you.”

“Actually he goes to parties with me to make sure I get home okay, I’d do the same for him and-” Tony paused, while stopping to turn around and face Howard. “...why are you suddenly paying attention to me? Since I told you I got accepted into MIT you’re a lot more present than usual,” he continued.

“Can’t I be proud of you for getting into MIT when you’re only sixteen?”

 _Lies._ To Howard they were his greatest asset, yet besides his mother, Maria and Rhodey, Tony was the only other person who saw through them. Tony watched him constantly lie through his teeth to the people he worked with, work related or not. He worked too often, barely sparing a moment to involve himself in his son’s life. Yet as soon as the news of Tony being accepted into MIT became fact, it was like someone had replaced Howard with an impostor.

“Proud, _sure._ Proud to get me out of your sight, you’re not subtle dad.”

Strong hands pulled him back, as he stared at Howard’s disapproving expression on his face, his vice grip making Tony wince slightly.

“Listen _boy,_ if you want a home to come back to you should start showing some respect,” he ground out.

“I don’t owe you anything!” Tony exclaimed.

“Tones!”

 _Oh thank god_ Tony said to himself, turning around to see Rhodey jogging over to them. He distanced himself from Howard, hurrying over to his best friend and meeting him halfway for a warm, welcoming hug.

“You made it,” Rhodey sighed happily, tightening his hold on Tony.

“Yeah, with the fun police right behind me.”

Rhodey stifled a laugh in the crook of Tony’s neck, before pulling away, hands moving to Tony’s shoulders to hold him at arm's length.

“It’s good to see you,” he said.

“Good to see you too honeybear.”

Howard cleared his throat abruptly, interrupting the exchange between Rhodey and Tony, hands clasped behind his back to try and give off an imitating vibe.

“Mr Rhodes.”

Rhodey put his attention on Howard, the bane of his entire existence, a man he despised just as much as Tony did.

“Mr Stark.”

“I trust you’re going to keep my son on the straight and narrow?” Howard asked.

“Tony’s old enough to make his own choices. I’m not a dictator.”

Tony snorted loudly.

“Is something funny?” his father questioned.

“No,” Tony replied.

“We should get goin’, I need to show Tony to his dorm, then give him a tour around campus,” Rhodey interjected.

Howard shook his head slowly.

“I can help him with that.”

Tony scoffed as he shrugged the other strap of his backpack over his shoulder.

“No you can’t. Bye now.”

“Anthony,” Howard muttered, sternly.

“I didn’t ask you to come here! If you’re so proud of me, then you’ll let me go and be a grown up. I’m almost seventeen dad, I get by on my own two feet on a daily basis anyway. So back off!”

“Your mother was right. You’re nothing but an ungrateful, selfish, disrespectful little brat,” he sniped.

“Don’t you dare put words into her mouth! That’s what _you_ think of me, not her. She’s the only one who ever believed in me when you didn’t!”

Rhodey quickly grabbed Tony’s arm, holding him back as he guided Tony in the direction of the dorms, denying Howard the satisfaction of a heated confrontation with his son. When he’d promised to look out for Tony, that also applied to dealing with his manipulative father, who always tried to blame Maria for everything. Being Tony’s childhood friend, he’d observed both sides of Tony’s life, living with Howard, then living with Maria. It was safe to say Tony was happier around his mother, like he was a completely different person. Which was why he was glad that Tony’s application to MIT was accepted. He would have some freedom, away from the clutches of Howard’s terrible parenting, if one would even call it parenting at all.

“I’m really glad you showed up,” Tony spoke up, his eyes still fixed on the ground.

Rhodey’s mouth curved up at the corner as he swung his arm around Tony’s shoulder.

“When you were late I thought I better come and look for you.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. But I got a huge lecture from my dad when we got here. Then he thought he’d walk me in and y’know how I feel about that,” he sighed.

“The guy doesn’t quit does he?”

Tony shook his head with a laugh.

“This is the first time he’s paid attention to me. But he still does it in his own special way, dictating and lecturing.”

“How did he feel when you said you were stayin’ in the dorms?” Rhodey questioned.

“He wasn’t happy about that. But I told him I didn’t care, he talked with mom about it...I think she told him that he was being an idiot.”

“How’s she doin’? It’s been two years since I’ve seen her,” he replied

“She’s busy these days, but she always calls me, or I call her,” Tony hummed.

Rhodey grinned widely.

“You gotta’ invite her here to check out MIT.”

“She wouldn’t say no to that, I’ll ask when I call her tonight,” he answered, wrapping his arm around Rhodey’s waist.

MIT had been Tony’s dream since he was ten years old. But now he got to live that dream, and he wasn’t sure how to react to it. He knew the usual applicants were at least seventeen, yet he’d been so eager to apply, he tried at fifteen. Then just before his sixteenth birthday, Tony’s acceptance letter came in the mail, he hid it from Howard until a week before he was due to attend the start of his degree. Needless to say, it didn’t go down too well.

“So what’re you studying?”

Tony rolled his eyes because he’d told Rhodey several times, but humoured him anyway.

“Electrical engineering.”

“That’s it. You’re gonna’ do great Tony,” Rhodey chimed.

“I hope so. But I don’t want to push myself either.”

“Oh trust me, you’ll have an easy time here. You get a lot of time to wind down before classes start. And a lot of the libraries are open for late night study groups,” he explained.

“What are the students like here?” Tony queried.

Deep down he hoped Rhodey would say that it’s better than where he’d been. High school was good before Rhodey went to MIT after graduating, once he was gone Tony became vulnerable. Each day left him with a new bruise to cover up...or those he couldn’t. MIT seemed like his only escape, and he’d be thankful if it was like that. Though he wasn’t going to get those hopes up, in fear of thinking too optimistically. Because the way Rhodey was looking at him, it didn’t show much of a change from when they’d gone to middle school and he’d asked if it’d be better.

“I’m not gonna’ say it’s perfect. This place is big, there’s a lot of people that you meet and nine times out of ten they’re great people. But there are a few guys who think people need to kiss the ground they walk on. Don’t let them get to you if you ever run into them.”

“That’s kinda’ reassuring, yet better than high school I guess,” the brunette chuckled.

“I’ll introduce you to the gang, you’ll know who to look out for if you need anything. They also welcome new people easily.”

Tony smiled gratefully for Rhodey’s comforting words.

“That’s good to know.”

Rhodey nodded slowly.

“Hey, speak of the devil.”

Tony’s eyes followed Rhodey’s gaze as he spotted three students walking towards them, practically blocking the pathway. The closer they got, the more Tony saw what they looked like, all male and absolutely gorgeous. He even got a light nudge in the ribs from Rhodey, knowing for sure that he must have been gawking at them. The guy in the middle had short black hair and warm brown eyes, while the two on either side of him were blonde with striking blue eyes, one of them having longer hair than the other.

“Holy…” Tony whispered, blinking rapidly to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

“Hey! Look who it is, my man Rhodes!”

He decided to hang back while Rhodey greeted the trio, brief hugs and pats on the back all around. Rhodey stepped to the side, holding his arm out towards Tony, who’d caught the attention of the long haired blonde.

“Guys, this is my best friend Tony. He’s new here, a few years younger than us but he’s the smartest guy I know.”

Tony smirked sheepishly.

“Rub it in why don’t you Rhodey.”

“You know me,” Rhodey said. “Tones, this is Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson and Thor Odinson. They’re part of the group,” he added.

“Good to have some new faces around here,” Sam greeted, while shaking Tony’s hand.

“Nice to meet you Sam.”

Steve was next to hold out his hand, gripping his hand firmly, before flashing him a kind smile.

“If you need help with anythin’, just come and ask me.”

“Thanks,” Tony uttered.

When Thor stepped forward, Tony was pulled into a bone crushing hug, eliciting a yell of surprise from being lifted off of the ground as well. Rhodey, Sam and Steve couldn’t help but burst into fits of laughter, while Tony weakly patted Thor on the back.

“Can’t breathe here Point Break,” he choked out.

“Thor prefers to give people a hug over a handshake,” Steve interjected.

Thor grinned before putting Tony down, clasping his hand on Tony’s shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Any friend of Rhodes, is a friend of mine.”

“You even got a nickname,” Sam stated, with a smirk.

Tony shrugged languidly.

“I usually give everyone nicknames, you’ll probably get one of your own someday.”

“Fine by me,” he replied.

“Alright you three. I gotta’ take Tony to the dorms and get him settled in. We still good for game night later?” Rhodey asked.

Sam chuckled.

“We’re always good for game night. Tony you should join us too, if you’re up for it. You can meet everyone else.”

Tony nodded in agreement.

“Sure, sounds fun.”

Sam’s eyes lit up as he lightly slapped his hand on Tony’s chest.

“I like this guy already.”

“I knew you guys wouldn't let him be shy. C’mon Tones,” Rhodey chuckled.

As they turned away, Tony glanced over his shoulder again, watching Sam and Thor throw a waves his way, stirring a small laugh out of Tony.

“So they're only part of the gang. How many more is there?”

Rhodey smirked.

“There’s a few. T’Challa, Natasha, Clint, Bruce, Wanda, Pietro, Scott, Helen, Carol and Bucky.”

“Wow, fourteen people in a friend circle, that’s including you,” Tony whistled.

“Yeah, and you get to be lucky number fifteen.”

“I’ll take it, but that depends if the others like me,” he murmured.

While being too focused on his discussion with Rhodey, Tony was unaware of two students walking around the corner. His shoulder bumped into the shoulder of another student, sending him somewhat off balance, but not enough to cause a trip to a fall. He only managed to mutter a quick _‘sorry’_ as they continued walking, catching a brief glimpse of who he’d run into. They too looked back, engaging eye contact with Tony, two perfect blue-grey eyes that caught Tony off guard. He didn’t have time to pay attention to anything else, but _those eyes,_ they’d be ingrained in his head for awhile now. Surprisingly, Tony felt okay with that.

“Who are you lookin’ at?”

Tony’s eyes darted back to Rhodey, noting the knowing expression on his best friend’s face, which earned him an eyeroll in return.

“Just someone I bumped into coming around that corner.”

“Let me guess, he was good lookin’,” Rhodey retorted.

“Why do you just assume that Rhodes.”

“‘Cause I know when you’ve got your eyes on the prize,” he bragged.

“Okay, but can you blame me, I mean...Sam, Steve and Thor, c’mon,” Tony countered.

Rhodey gently elbowed Tony in the ribs with a loud laugh.

“There’s a lot of eye candy Tony, don’t worry. You’re not gonna’ be deprived of it.”

“Thanks for the reassurance,” he huffed out.

“Hey we’re here!”

The dorms were unlike anything Tony had ever seen, donning a more modern appearance, with several different colours outside the windows. In Tony’s eyes, it looked as if it should have been a contemporary art piece instead of dorms. He stopped in his tracks to admire the building, casting his eyes of every little detail that popped out at him. But it was the sign spread out across three windows that caught his eye, bright bold letters staring back at him saying _‘Welcome to MIT’_ , as well as his name written in red and gold.

“Rhodes, what’s that?”

Rhodey glanced over to where Tony was pointing, his hands falling on his hips as he let out a soft scoff.

“I told them about you comin’ here, but I didn’t think they’d go ahead and do that.”

Tony couldn’t help but smile broadly at the welcome sign created for him.

“Your friends are really nice y’know.”

“I told you Tones, you’ll fit right in. They’ve kinda’ been excited about someone new joining the group,” Rhodey replied.

“I’m starting not to feel so nervous about meeting them now,” Tony hummed, while swinging his arm around Rhodey’s shoulder.

“You wanna’ go and see your room now?”

Tony nodded slowly and grinned widely.

“I’m ready.”

From the open windows of the room where the sign hung out of, Tony heard music sounding out loudly, along with a mix of different voices trying to sing with it. Himself and Rhodey glanced at each other with raised eyebrows, before Tony cracked, suddenly overcome with laughter. It was as off key as a karaoke night with friends who’d never done it before, yet equally as entertaining. Tony found himself aimlessly humming along to the song, head bobbing to the beat and fingers tapping against the strap of his backpack.

The main lobby was quiet when Tony stepped inside, with only about six students sitting on beanbags around a TV. He followed Rhodey down a hallway to a flight of stairs, casting his eyes over the artworks and pictures of past graduates from MIT, spanning several decades. Each dorm door had the names of the students residing in the rooms, covered with their own unique decor to liven up the hallway. He read some while they walked by, figuring it would be good to become familiar with those around him. At the second last door he saw his own surname under Rhodey’s, sighing with relief that he wouldn’t be put in a dorm of his own.

Although he knew that most students were paired with a roommate, there was a possibility it might not have happened for him. Yet Rhodey seemed pleased to see Tony’s nameplate on the door as well, the smile on his face not faltering once. Tony peered at the name above Rhodey’s nameplate, displaying the name of somebody that Tony could recall in the list of people he had to meet, according to his best friend. He sauntered into the room, closely followed by Rhodey who urged him inside to a spacious lounge area, also decorated with modern furniture to match the exterior of the building.

“Well, here we are,” Rhodey spoke up, patting Tony’s back gently.

“It’s nice, kinda’ reminds me of mom’s.”

“Really? I thought your mom liked somethin’ else,” he said.

“She likes a lot of things Rhodey, but modern furniture is something she _loves._ ”

Rhodey shrugged.

“Seems fair.”

“So...T’Challa stays here too?” Tony questioned.

“Sure does, he might be with the others though.”

_“Rhodes, are you back already?”_

Tony turned his head in the direction of the voice from a room to the left of them, his eyes widening a fraction at the sight he was met with. T’Challa was emptying a cardboard box inside one of the three bedrooms, with his back to the pair, thus all Tony had was a nice view of back muscles rippling under his shirt and other _assets._ One that he wasn’t going to protest about, given the fact that he was gawking as much as he did when he’d met Sam, Thor and Steve. Rhodey snorted from beside him and leant against the door frame.

“I’ve got Tony with me.”

T’Challa looked over his shoulder, before standing up straight and greeting Tony with a welcoming smile, his hand held out to him.

“It is nice to finally meet you Tony.”

“Nice to meet you too and put a face to your name,” Tony replied, shaking T’Challa’s hand.

“He was checkin’ you out,” Rhodey interjected, as he walked back to the door to look down the hallway.

He could sense Tony was mentally cursing him without even looking at him.

“I nev-Rhodey!”

T’Challa let out a faint laugh.

“I have no problem with it, feel free.”

Tony’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink, he often found it hard to tell sweet little lies when he really should simply give up and be truthful once in awhile. Rhodey was facing them again, with an amused expression on his face, arms crossed loosely over his chest.

“He’s joinin’ us for game night too.”

“Ah, you will love it. I hope you like bowling. It was nice to talk with you Tony, but I need to finish unpacking,” T’Challa said.

“Bowling?”

Rhodey nodded.

“I forgot to tell you. We go bowling for game night, and we have this tradition of dressing up in costumes.”

“Shit buddy, you could have told me. I didn’t exactly pack a costume in my case,” Tony groused.

“Relax Tony, there’s stores not far off campus.”

“Sorry, I’m just trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’m actually here,” he murmured. “What’s the theme anyway?” he asked.

“Our favourite band or musician. Gotta’ have something that makes it iconic with who you’re dressing up as. Sam, T’Challa and I decided to team up and dress as some of the musicians from _Earth, Wind & Fire _.”

Tony dropped his backpack down on the floor beside a case and a box he’d had sent to MIT prior to his arrival.

“Okay, I think I’ll manage to find something.”

“You have a lot of favourites, I don't think you'll have a hard time,” Rhodey chuckled.

“Won't know until I try.”

“So, ready to meet the others? We’ll sort your things out later. Your room is opposite T’Challa’s and mine is next to yours,” he informed.

“Ready as I’ll ever be, which is usually never,” Tony joked.

As much as Rhodey wanted to read it as a joke, he only had to take one look at Tony to know that his worries were bothering him again. It’d always been a challenge for Tony to make new friends, because for the most part they all wanted to be his friend for his money. A lot of people knew how much income Stark Industries made, Tony tried to keep himself as low profile as possible. But what with Howard throwing Tony out into the limelight, it became increasingly impossible to keep himself under the radar. Several people had already used Tony and broken his heart one too many times. Rhodey didn’t want a repeat of his best friend hitting rock bottom ever again.

Tony walked down a hallway two doors down from their room, listening to the laughter and music that echoed out of a room at the end of the hallway. Rhodey glanced at him once, with a look that was silently asking him if he was definitely sure about meeting the others. He could tackle it, what with how friendly, Steve, Sam, Thor and T’Challa had been, Tony felt positive that everyone else would be exactly the same. MIT was going to be an entirely different experience for him, daunting, but also hopeful.

“We’re the loudest group in the dorm, but you probably already know that,” Rhodey said.

“Never would have known Rhodes,” Tony retorted.

When they approached the door, Rhodey’s friends were oblivious to his and Tony’s appearance, the music still blasting loud out of the speakers. The sign for Tony still hung freely out of the window, swishing in a gust of wind that circulated underneath it. There was one person in that room that Tony had seen before, not met, but her face was very familiar, as well as her flouncy red curls that fell over her shoulders. It appeared to be an inviting atmosphere, which felt good for Tony, comfort was his greatest friend. Rhodey sighed as he pushed himself off the door frame and walked over to the stereo.

“Watch this.”

Rhodey turned the music down slowly, causing a handful of collective groans in protest to fill the room, while Tony hid the amusement on his face by casting his eyes down to the floor.

“Great, you’re all payin’ attention now.”

The brunette sitting on a bed opposite Tony flailed his hand in Rhodey’s direction, with an annoyed look on his face.

“We were listening to that.”

“Well you can listen to me now, I wanna’ introduce you guys to someone,” Rhodey issued.

Everyone’s attention settled on Tony, who was staring right back at them, taking the time to take in all of their faces, there was no turning back now.

“Guys, this is Tony.”

“Hi Tony!” they chorused.

The mood suddenly shifted to that of excitement, which ultimately made Tony feel welcomed instantly. _Red_ gave Tony a once over with her soft, mossy green eyes, her smile complimented with a deep red colour on her lips.

“He’s cute.”

Tony blushed immediately, he couldn’t control that at all, compliments were a rare occurrence for him.

“Hey!”

 _Red_ grinned at the brunette on the bed.

“He is!”

The brunette huffed out a grunt.

“I guess you’re right, he is pretty cute…”

“I- _um,_ ” Tony mumbled.

“Wow, you guys, he’s new here, give him some space.”

Tony wanted to thank said person that just spoke up, he didn’t mind the comments, but he wasn’t used to it and had no knowledge of how to react either. The only thing was, he couldn’t find the source of the noise, until he looked up and saw someone sitting on top of a stack of boxes, his eyes widening a fraction.

“You’re going to fall off there.”

“I’m good, I do this all the time,” the brunette replied, before jumping down off the boxes and landing straight on his ass.

 _Red_ and another woman in the room started laughing as the brunette was helped up by a guy with salt and pepper coloured hair, his head slowly shaking from side to side.

“Okay, I’m taking Tony’s advice and never going back up there.”

Rhodey shook his head and sighed.

“Tony, this is the rest of the group, I’ll introduce everyone left to right. Wanda Maximoff, Helen Cho, Clint Barton, Carol Danvers, Scott Lang, Pietro Maximoff and Natasha Romanoff.”

“We’re missing some others,” Clint said.

“Oh, he already met Sam, Steve and Thor. Then T’Challa, he’s in our room. Where’s Bucky though? And Bruce.”

“Bucky went out with Bruce to study, they won’t be back until it’s time for game night,” Scott interjected.

“Guess you’ll meet them later Tones,” Rhodey uttered.

Tony smiled briefly.

“That’s fine.”

“Tony, I’ve got a question,” Natasha chimed in, patting the seat beside her.

“Sure, I’m listening.”

Natasha turned to face Tony once he’d sat down in the chair, her eyes focused dead on Tony’s.

“Tchaikovsky or Stravinsky?”

Clint raised an eyebrow.

“Nat, don’t put pressure on him.”

“It’s not a bad question, I’m interested in his answer,” she argued.

Tony swallowed thickly, he knew exactly what she was talking about, but whether he knew the right answer was another thing.

“I’d have to say Tchaikovsky.”

Natasha’s eyes lit it up at the answer.

“Why do you say that?”

“Well I’ve seen you dance before, I took my mom to a ballet performance for her birthday and it was one you were in, a year ago. You danced to Tchaikovsky's _Swan Lake,_ ” he answered.

“Really? Did you enjoy it?” Natasha asked.

“It’s not really my thing, but I went for my mom, she loves it. But I mean...y-you were great, b-beautiful even,” the brunette stuttered.

“You left beautiful flowers in my dressing room,” she chuckled.

Tony found himself blushing again.

“I-yeah...I had to, you deserved them.”

Natasha pecked his cheek and wiped away the lipstick mark it left.

“Thank you.”

“Aw c’mon, if we’re going to make this a game we should all get involved!” Scott suggested, loudly.

“It’s his first day and this is how you greet him!” Clint scolded.

Tony tried to bite back a laugh.

“It’s alright, I like questions. I’m sure all of you want to know what kind of person I am anyway.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, except for Rhodey as he knew practically _everything_ about Tony. But even he was staring directly at Tony giving him an _‘are you sure’_ look, which Tony reacted to with a positive response.

“Why don’t we go around the room and you can ask Tony somethin’. Start from left to right like how I introduced Tony to you.”

“Good idea Rhodey,” Natasha said.

Wanda placed the book she was reading down on the bed, as she moved to sit on the floor in front of Tony.

“This question is very important.”

“Ask me anything it can be as simple as Natasha’s,” Tony encouraged.

“Alright, ice cream or cake?”

Pietro snickered.

“How is that important?”

“It is important to me!” Wanda bit back.

Tony pursed his lips in thought, as he liked both, yet he did favour one more than the other ninety percent of the time. He looked back at Wanda, who was staring up at him eagerness in her eyes, the corner of her mouth also curved up slightly.

“I like both, but...I’d pick ice cream, most of the time,” he admitted, truthfully.

The smile on Wanda’s face only grew larger, while she clasped her hands together.

“We will be getting ice cream together one day. I know the best place,” she offered.

Helen was perched on the ledge of one of the windows, where she gave Tony a friendly wave before pulling her knees up to her chest.

“Science fiction or fantasy?”

That question was simple for Tony.

“Science fiction.”

“This is a good one. Brooklyn Nine Nine or Arrested Development?” Clint questioned.

“Brooklyn Nine Nine.”

Clint cheered happily and threw his hands up in the air.

“He’s staying, I like him.”

“I wasn’t planning on leaving,” Tony sassed.

A few snorts and chuckles filled the room after Tony’s comeback, drawing a muffled laugh out of Tony as well, despite trying to keep his composure.

“I wish you were here earlier Tony, you would’ve been a great person to be around during the really draining study sessions we had.”

Tony smiled back at Clint, completely unable to find a way of saying _‘thank you’_ with words. He’d only just arrived and Tony already felt at home with the few people sitting around him. Not everybody would be like this, he knew that, but Tony would be happy knowing a small group of people over a large group.

“Carol, your turn,” Helen spoke up.

Carol was leaning back in a chair, with her feet kicked up on a coffee table and her arms behind her head. Tony could already tell she was a laid back person, with her blonde hair tied into a messy bun and the relaxed look in her light blue eyes.

“Skydiving or bungee jumping?”

“Skydiving,” Tony replied, quickly.

“Ever done it before?”

“Three times,” he confirmed.

“I’ll grab your number later, we should try bungee jumping on the weekend,” Carol proposed.

It felt like he was dreaming, they barely knew Tony, yet they were already making plans with him and treating him like a friend. Tony willed himself to keep his emotions at bay, but with Natasha sitting right next to him, she was the first to notice the tears welling in his eyes. Her hand rested on Tony’s arm as she wiped the corner of his eyes with her thumb.

“You okay?”

Tony swallowed thickly, with a choked sob, before leaning into Natasha’s embrace she offered to him.

“Sorry...I don’t usually get this much of a welcome from people.”

“Hey, we’ve all been there man, we know how you feel,” Scott said, after appearing on Tony’s other side to tenderly squeeze his shoulder. “Don’t be afraid to ask for anything, we’re here for you, as your friends,” he added.

“It is like having a little brother. It’s good,” Pietro pointed out.

“I think we’ll leave the other questions until later, let Tony settle in,” Natasha mused, pressing a kiss to Tony’s hair.

“Actually, Tony needs to get a costume ready for game night. Do you want to take him to the store?” Rhodey asked.

“Dibs going too!” Scott yelled.

“Me three!” Wanda piped up.

Rhodey sighed.

“Okay, Natasha, Scott and Wanda can take him. That gonna’ be okay Tones?”

Their eyes were back on Tony again, who was wiping away the remnants of his tears, sniffling quietly and gently holding Natasha’s hand that she let him hold.

“Sounds good to me.”

He could only hope Bruce and Bucky were as welcoming as the others were.

* * *

Nightfall arrived quicker than Tony anticipated, but he already felt like his first day at MIT was a success. After struggling to find anything worthy of being deemed a costume, Tony was exempt of the traditional game night rules and allowed to dress as he wished. He settled for putting on his favourite Black Sabbath shirt, as well as a few items he found in the store that were akin to Ozzy Osbourne’s style, sunglasses, eyeliner and black nails included.

“Natasha did a damn good job of your nails Tones,” Rhodey commented.

Tony smiled as he nudged Rhodey with his elbow.

“You did great with yours.”

“Can’t beat flare pants, a shiny open shirt and platforms,” he said.

“You, Sam and T’Challa are going to knock everyone else out of the park.”

Rhodey laughed loudly, before leaning back against his car.

“Of course we are, we’ll be the best trio there.”

“You said it Rhodes,” Tony chuckled, swinging his arm around Rhodey’s shoulder.

The bowling alley was tucked in beside a bar and a restaurant, with a bright neon signs pointing to the door, as well as ones with bowling terms like _‘strike’_ and _‘split’_ on the windows. It’d been awhile since Tony last went bowling,from what he could recall it was with his mother for his fourteenth birthday. He didn’t care if he played a horrible game, as long as he had fun, and got along well with Bruce and Bucky.

“Natasha said they’re inside already.”

Tony pushed himself off the car.

“Oh, I thought we were meeting them outside?”

Rhodey shrugged lazily.

“We’re runnin’ late I think.”

“ _Fashionably_ late!” Tony exclaimed, with enthusiasm.

“You’re in a good mood.”

“Well, usually I’d be at home with Howard yelling at me. So, I’d obviously prefer being here. Y’know I put him in his place this morning because he was calling you a troublemaker and it pissed me off, he doesn’t understand how great you are. So I told him how it is,” he answered.

He saw Rhodey’s mouth twitch up at the corner.

“Good, you don’t need to be around that kinda’ negativity. I don’t care what he says, he didn’t take the time to get to know me, his loss,” he murmured, with a shrug.

Tony and Rhodey stood by the kiosk in the bowling alley, kicking their shoes off to hand to the attendee and swap them for bowling shoes. They certainly made a statement for Tony’s costume, Rhodey’s, not so much, given that he was wearing colourful clothing already. Tony stared down at the red and gold shoes, admiring them with interest, as he didn’t think red and gold would actually work well together.

“I need to get myself some red and gold shoes.”

Rhodey raised an eyebrow.

“You could get custom made ones. They suit you Tones.”

The brunette grinned broadly, before looking down at the shiny neon green ones Rhodey had on.

“Thanks Rhodey, yours suit you too.”

As they walked further into the room where the alleys were, music played from multiple speakers, with a few mounted next to a screen that displayed the music video for the current song. Tony could see lights flashing onto the floors in time with the music, accompanied by UV lights when players stepped up to bowl their ball. He followed Rhodey up to the seating area, where they were immediately greeted by cheers at their presence. Natasha stood up as she pulled Tony into a hug, then held him at arm's length.

“You look perfect. It’s a great get up for the amount of time we had to figure something out.”

“I think we did good. So who are you meant to be huh?” Tony queried.

“Stevie Nicks.”

“Oh! I should have known that. You look amazing anyway,” he said.

“Thank you,” Natasha whispered, pecking a kiss on Tony’s cheek.

Tony moved around the group to greet everyone he’d met already, stopping in front of someone dressed up as Slash.

“Hey, I love your outfit. I’m Tony.”

Brown eyes met his and Tony found himself analyzing the man in front of him, starting to wonder if Bucky or Bruce were going to be the final icing on the cake of attractive people that he’d met in one day.

“Oh hi, you’re Tony? Nice to meet you. I’m Bruce.”

 _So I still have to meet Bucky_ he thought, shaking Bruce’s hand firmly.

“Natasha said you were exempt from the dress up, but I could tell straight away you were going for some key Ozzy Osbourne styles, it’s awesome,” Bruce stated.

Tony gave a shy shrug at the compliment.

“Thanks, I tried.”

“Guys where’s Bucky?” Rhodey questioned, scooping the room for the one person missing from the group.

“He said to me in a text that he was running late,” Thor interjected.

Tony couldn’t take him seriously dressed as Axl Rose, nor Scott who was Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue. But the amount of effort everybody put in astounded him, it was something he knew he could get used to. Sam, Rhodey and T’Challa were the best dressed out of all of them, they went the full haul for their Earth, Wind & Fire attire.

“Okay, we aren’t the ones running late then.”

“We’re still fashionable though,” Tony chided, pointing a finger at Rhodey.

“Whatever you say Tones.”

“Helen, Carol and I are going to get food and drinks,” Wanda said.

The trio headed to the kiosk where Tony had just been, leaving everyone else to their own devices. Tony stood to the side of the couch that Thor and Scott were lounging on, listening to all the conversations unravelling around him. He glanced over at the kiosk, contemplating on offering his services to help the girls with the drinks and food...until he saw _him._ Wanda was waving excitedly when he sauntered in, looking every inch of _fucking_ gorgeous in his outfit. Tony blinked rapidly, while releasing the breath he’d been holding in, because he could only guess that it must be Bucky.

“Hey hey! There he is!” Steve shouted.

Bucky bounded up the few stairs to the alleys and straight into Steve’s welcoming arms, his hand slapping the blonde’s back roughly.

“‘Bout time you showed up!” Sam teased.

“I had a wardrobe malfunction!” Bucky responded, as he moved to Sam to hug him. “Damn you look good Sam. Steve, I’m stealin' your handsome boyfriend,” he sang.

Steve smirked.

“Like hell you are, jerk.”

“Hey Buck, c’mere!” Rhodey called, waving him over.

Bucky turned around and set his eyes on Tony, his mouth stretching into a wide, devilish smile as he meandered over to him. Tony swallowed down the lump in his throat, staring into Bucky’s eyes, a pair of subtle blue-greys that he’d seen this morning. It was only then that he realised that Bucky was the one he bumped shoulders with, his face was familiar, even with the obvious wig on his head.

“Rhodes, you said he was _kind of_ cute.”

Tony opened his mouth to protest, until Bucky put his arm around Tony’s waist, drawing him in until they were hip to hip.

“He’s real good lookin’.”

Rhodey shot Bucky an eyeroll in return, then tilted his head in T’Challa’s direction.

“Uh huh, well I’ve got a good lookin’ boyfriend to go say hi to, you can keep Tony company right?”

“Oh you bet,” Bucky hummed, squeezing Tony’s hip tenderly.

The brunette let out an involuntary gasp, clasping his hand up to cover his mouth, cheeks flushing bright red.

“Sorry, did I hurt you?”

“N-no,” Tony stammered.

“Good, I don’t wanna’ give you a bad first impression. I dig the outfit.”

“I uh, dig yours too,” he mumbled, softly.

Bucky chuckled.

“I’m pretendin’ to Billie Joe from Green Day. Kind of a die hard fan,” he admitted.

“Ah, you pull it off really well,” Tony replied.

“Do you like ‘em?” the brunette asked.

Tony nodded.

“Yeah they have some good songs.”

He felt Bucky’s hand move to his upper back, sending a slight shiver down his spine at the touch.

“My favourite is Basket Case, that song is iconic for me.”

Tony elicited a low hum in agreement.

“I always liked Brain Stew though, it was a good song for me when I wanted to block everything out around me.”

“You're speakin’ my language Tony,” Bucky crooned, low in Tony's ear.

“Bucky, my man, when you’re done flirtin’ with our new friend, do you wanna’ start this game?” Sam lectured, in a joking tone.

“Alright Wilson, how are we doin’ this?” he tested.

Sam stood deep in thought for a moment, then sat down to type in names for the scoreboards.

“Okay so we’ll have Bucky and Stark as captains. Team Barnes will be myself, Bucky, Steve, Scott, Clint, Helen, Wanda and Bruce. Team Stark is Tony, T’Challa, Thor, Natasha, Rhodey, Carol and Pietro, someone needs to go twice for you.”

“I vote Tony,” Natasha intoned.

“You fine with that Tony?”

“Yeah sure, I don’t mind,” Tony uttered.

Bucky’s smile was fond as he continued to stare at Tony.

“Get ready for us to wipe the floor with you.”

Tony raised an eyebrow as he glanced back at Bucky over his shoulder, after moving to the right side where his team’s alley was.

“You want to wager Barnes?”

A chorus of _‘oo’s’_ circulated its way around the group, with Bucky stepping closer to Tony.

“Name your prize Stark,” he drawled.

“Loser buys dinner for the other one night.”

Bucky bobbed his head slowly.

“That’s fair.”

“So what about you?” Tony quizzed.

“Loser owes the winner a kiss.”

“That’s it?” he snickered.

“Only if it’s okay with you. Don’t mind cheek kisses either. I’ve got a backup if it’s not okay,” Bucky said, with a kind smile.

That was easily one way to win Tony over, being a goddamn gentleman.

“No I like that idea.”

Bucky absently drew his bottom lip in with his teeth as he walked over to the row of bowling balls sitting for them to use. Tony followed close by, roaming his eyes over Bucky, watching the brunette running his fingers over the smooth surface of a bowling ball, before picking it up. He could hear muffled conversations behind him, obviously talking about them. They were sort of indulging in their own little game of cat and mouse, the chemistry clearly evident between the pair.

Tony took a deep breath, approaching the line at a steady pace, while watching Bucky out of the corner of his eye. Bucky had a mean throw, sending the bowling ball crashing into the pins and managing to knock eight down, just missing the ninth and tenth. Everyone over on Bucky’s team let out groans at the missed pin, yet Bucky appeared to take it in his stride. It was people like him that Tony admired, people that were only out for fun and didn’t get extremely competitive.

Now that it was Tony’s turn, he focused on what direction he wanted to send the ball in, planning to avoid the gutters at all costs. The gutters were his enemy, the lane was his friend, as well as the ball. With well timed precision, the brunette gave himself a short run up, bringing his arm back to send the ball speeding down the lane before halting. He exhaled heavily and watched the ball collide into the middle of the pins, knocking all ten down like dominoes.

“Holy shit!” Bucky gasped, eyes widening a fraction.

“That was awesome!” Carol blurted out.

“You guys realise this guy plays bowling with his mom whenever he visits. He’s been doin’ this since he was eight,” Rhodey laughed.

“I’m already jealous. I wish I could bowl like that,” Wanda complained.

“It’s all in the swing,” Thor said.

“I think it's your timing,” Helen added.

Bucky clucked his tongue loudly against the roof of his mouth.

“Alright, you make valid points. But I'm just gonna’ go with Tony bein’ awesome.”

“Barnes, are you trying to throw me off with your charm?” Tony accused.

“Maybe, is it workin’?”

“Not really,” he retorted.

“Harsh,” Bucky huffed out.

Tony and Bucky took their places back on the couch, sitting side by side to watch the rest of their friends take their turns. Bucky’s arm was thrown over the back of the couch behind Tony, his fingers skimming the edge of the brunette’s jacket. Tony turned his head in Bucky’s direction, making eye contact with him as they stared back at each other. When Bucky smiled at him, the rosy colour flowed to his cheeks again and warmed his face. It was a smile wide enough to show his teeth, a type of smile that Tony found attractive on anybody, because it spanned all the way up to Bucky’s gleaming eyes.

“So MIT huh? What’re you studying?” he asked, keeping his attention focused on Tony.

“Electrical engineering is my major and-”

“No way!” Bucky interrupted, holding his hand up in apology. “Sorry, it’s just I’m taking electrical engineering too,” he continued.

“Seriously?”

Bucky responded with an enthusiastic nod.

“I wanna’ start a career with it.”

“Me too,” Tony replied.

“What about a minor?”

“I went for physics,” he said.

“I picked out literature, it’s a bit of a general interest,” Bucky mused.

Tony couldn’t help the grin spreading on his face.

“So are we in the same class?”

“You bet we are,” the brunette hummed, leaning into Tony. “If you need to know anythin’ ‘bout the class, ask me,” he added.

“Thanks. Everyone’s been pretty helpful so far.”

Bucky elicited a small _‘mm’_ as if he was fifty-fifty on Tony’s statement.

“Not everyone’s like this though. But you just gotta’ stay away from ‘em.”

He knew that Tony may already know that, but an extra warning wouldn’t hurt.

“Noted. I guess I need to be around the right people.”

There was a fond look on Tony’s face as the brunette glanced back out at the activity in front of them. Bucky took the time to admire Tony quietly, watching long lashes fan against his cheek before revealing the rich brown colour of his eyes. He let his eyes roam for longer than he intended, drinking in _every_ single detail of Tony, though becoming mostly distracted by his mouth. His lips parted often, as though he was going to speak, but he never did and for Bucky it seemed almost inviting to want to lean in and kiss them.

Bucky didn’t usually feel such a strong connection with someone on their first meeting as he did with Tony. There was something different that drew him to Tony, a sense of ease or a minor feeling of attraction he’d never experienced with _anyone._ But he wouldn’t get so ahead of himself, Tony was new here, he had many people to meet, the least he could do was be his friend. A friend would be someone that Tony could rely on most, Bucky loved helping people, it was something he learnt from his father.

“Hey Tony.”

“Yeah?” Tony answered.

“I’m glad you’re here.”

Tony averted his gaze for a minute, then brought it back to Bucky, his smile not reaching his eyes, yet it was gorgeous all the same.

“I’m glad I’m here too…” he whispered.

It was all Bucky needed to hear, he wanted Tony to feel reassured that he could achieve this new fete in life. So when Bucky suddenly felt Tony pressing a kiss to his cheek, tender and brief to avoid any attention of those around them...he knew he’d done _just_ that.

_For Bucky, that was worth more than a thousand words…_

* * *

_"Good luck today Anthony.”_

“Thanks mom, I’ve met a lot of great people already.”

_“That’s all I need to hear. I have to go, I’ll call you later tonight. I miss you.”_

“I miss you too mom. I love you.”

_“I love you too.”_

Tony stared down at his phone after his call with Maria had ended, smiling at the picture he had of himself and her when he was three years old. He missed her so much to the point where it hurt to leave her when his stays with her were over. Though, after MIT he planned to go and live with her in Manhattan, Howard would simply need to deal with it. Tony hadn’t called Howard since walking away from him on Friday, but that was him trying to prove a point, that he was fine and he wasn’t going to give Howard the satisfaction in hearing about his time at MIT. He didn’t owe Howard anything.

The weekend became a time for him to get to know everyone that he’d met. They took a trip out to the beach for the day, it reminded Tony of the memories of the beach when things weren’t so bad. He could remember simple things from when he was only a toddler, the soft feeling of the sand between his toes and the sound of the waves crashing around him. It was memories like that which made him enjoy his time there, but also the company he surrounded himself with. But the one person he got along with the most over the weekend, was Bucky.

Both of them shared stories with each other as they walked along the beach, learning about their childhoods and fun things they’d experienced. Tony learnt that Bucky’s mother was absent for most of his childhood, his father being his support and guidance for all the rough times where he hadn’t quite grasped that she wasn’t coming back. He shared his family situation while watching Bucky’s body language change constantly whenever he switched between talking about Howard and talking about Maria.

They connected over their equal love for engineering, as well as music tastes and favourite movies. If Tony could have stayed at the beach until the next day, he would have, with Bucky along beside him. He wasn’t sure what the connection was between them, there was instant friendship there, but something else lingered not too far behind. There was chemistry, he had kissed Bucky on the cheek on their first meeting, yet not one part of him felt regret for it. Bucky didn’t appear to mind it either. Because when they’d returned to the dorms to get rested up for their beach trip, Bucky said goodbye to him in the exact same way as Tony had thanked him for much needed reassurance.

Now, stepping into class on Monday morning gave him an entirely different feeling. This was it, this was where he started his journey, but also a trail into the unknown of what would come his way. He was feeling several different emotions, all that had to make him stop for a moment to take a deep breath before entering the room where his class was located. It was a spacious room, something that Tony could relax into, small rooms made him feel slightly claustrophobic. He liked his own space, somewhere where he could brainstorm and spread ideas out onto multiple places around the room.

Most of the other students were already inside, waiting for their professor who was supposedly running late. Tony scoped the room out, taking in the faces of people he was very unfamiliar with, beginning to wonder if Bucky was _actually_ in this class. He wanted to believe that Bucky wouldn’t lie to him, but after being lied to by so many others, Tony couldn’t quell that thought and it made him feel a little hurt.

“Look who it is, Stark’s kid.”

Tony turned around in the direction of the voice, locking gazes with a group at the front of the room. They already looked like the kind of people Tony shouldn’t associate himself with, but he was generally all for _‘never judge a book by its cover’_ until he got to know someone.

“I have a name,” he stated, keeping his voice level.

“Right. Sorry, I’m being rude. I’m Aldrich Killian, this is Tiberius Stone and Justin Hammer.”

Tony’s eyes looked between all three of them, observing for any kind of body language that would give him warning signs.

“Tony.”

“Nice to meet you Tony. News has been going around about you coming here. A sixteen year old getting into MIT, that’s a bit of a challenge for most,” Killian said.

“I guess it’s easy for him, dad’s money,” Hammer scoffed, patting Tony’s shoulder.

“Excuse me?” he hissed.

Hammer shrugged at him.

“Listen kid, you’re younger than most of us here. You’re going to have a hard time keeping up with everything.”

“Hammer, you can’t shut up can you?” Stone interjected.

“Hey Stark, you couldn’t loan us some money could you?”

“What the hell is wrong with you!” Tony spat.

Killian looked as if he was two seconds away from punching Hammer in the face.

“He’s just kidding Tony, c’mon, sit with us.”

Tony laughed loudly, before dropping the smile off his face.

“Pass, thanks.”

When he turned to leave Killian grabbed his backpack, before yanking Tony backwards as his hip hit the desk with a dull thud. Tony winced and struggled to get out of Killian’s grasp, his eyes suddenly widening when he heard part of his backpack tear. Several other students around the room began laughing at him, along with Killian, Hammer and Stone, their hands slapping against the desks. Tony shrugged the backpack off to access the damage, only to have several books fall out, as well as a journal.

“ _Oh_ look at this,” Killian chuckled, picking up the journal.

“Give that back!”

Tony swiped at him to get the journal, but held him at bay with one hand on his chest.

“He’s a mommy’s boy!” Stone exclaimed.

More laughter echoed in the room while Tony continued struggling with trying to grab the journal. This was the thing he was worried about, people making fun of him, or others wanting money from him.

“This is pathetic, he has a calendar and he’s crossing the days off until he sees his mom again,” Hammer snickered.

“Shut up!” Tony yelled, knocking the journal from Hammer’s hand.

It dropped to the floor at Tony’s feet, and he scrambled to pick it up, only to cry out in pain when Killian pinned the brunette’s hand under his shoe. Tony gripped the edge of the journal tightly, refusing to let go with tears stinging in his eyes as he gritted his teeth.

“We don’t need guys like you here Stark. So maybe you should pack your bags and run off home. You’re not good enough. And if you thi-”

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the pressure on Tony’s hand was lifted, his eyes snapping up to see Bucky barrelling into Killian. Chairs toppled over as Bucky slammed Killian against the wall, hands fisted in his jacket, eyes filled with anger.

“Don’t you _dare_ touch him again. Got it Killian?”

Tony pushed himself up onto his feet, holding the journal close to his chest, trying to fight back the mixed emotions he was feeling at once. The journal was ruined, as far as Tony could see, all of the pages ripped from the spine of the book, with some poking out of the book with crumples in them. He sat down at the nearest desk, hearing nothing but silence, except for Bucky grunting as he roughly put Killian back in his seat. Tony dropped his head into his hands, trying to steady his breathing, with the beginnings of an anxiety attack starting to form.

“Tony.”

Bucky’s voice was gentle, compared to when he talked to Killian with such rage in his tone. His hand rested on Tony’s shoulder, making the brunette flinch as he dropped his hands down to the journal, staring blankly at the empty chair in front of him. Tears formed in his eyes at a greater rate, prompting him to blink them away, swallowing down the sob that threatened come out. He stared at the mess on the floor, his backpack left next to scattered engineering books and pens.

“Good morning.”

Tony only looked up for a moment to see his professor entering the room, papers tucked safely under his arm before he placed them on his desk.

“Ah, Mr Stark. Glad you could join us. I’m Professor Phil Coulson. Are you settling in well?”

“Sir he-” Bucky stopped abruptly when Phil held up his hand.

“He can speak for himself Mr Barnes.”

“Tony, I’m here for you. You can tell me anythin’,” the brunette whispered, putting his hand back on Tony’s shoulder.

Tony snapped.

“Don’t touch me I don’t need your goddamn pity!”

Bucky watched as Tony fled from the room, leaving all of his belongings, except for the journal behind. He could hear Killian snort from his seat, only to cower when Bucky glared at him, his knuckles going white from grasping the seat too hard. Phil made a beeline for Bucky, with his back turned to the other students, one hand propped on the edge of the desk and concern evident on his face.

“What happened here?” he asked.

“Sir, I’d love to tell you, but I should really go after Tony,” Bucky begged.

Phil sighed heavily.

“Bucky, I need every little detail so I know what I’m dealing with here. Tony just got here and he’s left my class.”

The brunette shook his head slowly in protest.

“Please. He needs someone to talk to.”

“See me after class about it,” Phil said.

“Yes sir.”

“Go,” he ordered, ushering Bucky out of the room after he picked up Tony’s belongings.

He’d never ran so fast in his life.

* * *

Bucky searched for Tony throughout the day, in every building he could think of where he might be, and some parts of the dorms as well. He’d notified Rhodey, who passed it on to everyone else, they too decided to get in on the search. They hadn’t picked up much of an indication on where Tony might be either, so Bucky told them they could go back to the dorms. It wouldn’t be fair to keep all of them out there when most of them had classes to study for.

He eventually found himself travelling off campus sometime late in the evening. A hunch had him venturing out into the streets, searching several cafes along the way in any hope of seeing Tony there. Trying to contact him was off the table, given the fact that Bucky only wanted to approach him in person to talk things over. One thing was for certain, he was going to give Killian a hard time if Tony decided to leave MIT because of this.

“C’mon Tony where are you?”

The park Bucky walked through still had people sitting around or playing games as the sun started setting on the city. He took a minute out of his search to admire the sunset, fascinated by all the different shades of colour and silhouettes of buildings that were in the distance. It would have been a sunset that Tony would’ve enjoyed, he’d told Bucky this, sunsets were Tony’s favourite part of the day. Bucky now felt determined to find him, even if it took all night.

It was starting to get dark very quickly, the sun wasn’t going to hang around for long, thus Bucky had no choice but to get his phone out, swiping over the screen after finding Tony’s number. He continued walking, with his free hand in his pocket, listening to the phone ring, and ring, until it went to voicemail. Bucky sighed in frustration as he turned down another path, heading in the direction of an exit. Tony could be back at MIT already, but the hunch still didn’t settle, he _wanted_ to keep looking.

Suddenly, he stopped abruptly, looking up at a small hill which looked over the pond on the other side. Tony was sitting at the top of the hill, his back to Bucky as he held his arms around himself, shivering from the cold. Bucky crossed the short bridge to gain access to the hill, walking up it slowly so not to startle Tony. He slid his jacket off his shoulders, before gently placing it around Tony’s shoulders, making the brunette exhale a sharp gasp of surprise.

“Hey.”

Tony pulled the jacket around him tighter, averting his eyes from the grass and up to meet Bucky’s gaze.

“Hi…”

“Been lookin’ all over for you,” Bucky said.

“I’m sorry for snapping at you.”

Bucky sat down beside Tony, propping his arms up on his bent knees.

“Don’t be. Killian was bein’ a real dick to you.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Tony muttered.

He glanced down at the tattered pages of the journal, wishing he’d done more to protect it, then it wouldn’t be such a mess. Bucky’s hand rested on his shoulder, but this time he didn’t shrug it away and yell, he leant in the comforting gesture.

“Is Coulson mad at me?”

Bucky shook his head.

“I explained everythin’ after lookin’ for you for a few hours. He’s gonna’ deal with it. All three of ‘em will get what’s comin’ to ‘em.”

Tony smiled shyly.

“You didn’t punch Killian for what he did. And that was kind of admirable, others wouldn’t really think twice about it.”

“Yeah, well, I was raised to tell people to back off in a way that didn’t cause any harm. Doesn’t solve anythin’. Crowdin’ him against the wall and tellin’ him to not touch you ever again was what I went for,” Bucky explained, putting his attention on Tony.

“Thanks. I didn’t want it to become a bigger mess than it was already,” he replied.

“What exactly did he say to you?” the brunette asked.

“Apparently because I’m younger I won’t be able to keep up with everything. Hammer wanted a loan of money, which is typical because a lot of people just become friends with me for _that_ reason. Then he said I wasn’t good enough. He’s probably right, I’ve been told that for most of my life, by so called friends, by my own _dad._ I just-” Tony paused, shaking his head.

Bucky’s hand fell on Tony’s back as he rubbed small circles on the centre of it.

“You’re good enough Tony.”

The brunette pinched the bridge of his nose, holding back a few tears that started to well in his eyes.

“I’m not. I’m not cut out for this, I never was.”

“Hey, hey. Don’t be like that. Tony you just got here, you haven’t been given the chance to show that you can handle it,” Bucky soothed.

“My dad always brings me down about it.”

“Forget your dad, he’s an asshole. Who do you listen to the most?” he questioned.

“My mom,” Tony mumbled, seeing Bucky nod slowly out the corner of his eye.

“What does she say?”

“That I can do anything, I can _be_ anything. She came to every school related thing when I needed her there. She’s my freakin’ rock Bucky, and I get laughed at for missing her!” he exclaimed.

“It’s okay to miss your mom. I miss my dad, everyday.”

Tony looked over at Bucky with curious eyes.

“Where is he?”

“In Australia right now. Work thing. We call, but  I haven’t physically seen him in two years,” Bucky answered.

“So where did you stay before you started staying in the dorms at MIT?”

“With Steve, his mom, Sarah, she was like a mom to me. She treated me like part of the family,” he added.

“She sounds like an amazing person,” Tony chimed.

Bucky grinned.

“She is.”

They both fell into a comfortable silence, watching cars pass by on the streets as the city lights began lighting the sky with an orange glow. Bucky glanced at Tony now and again, noticing that he looked relaxed, void of all the negative emotions he had when Bucky first approached. He preferred to see a smile on Tony’s face, wanting him to feel all kinds of happiness. But he knew that while Tony was deep in thought, he would still be doubting himself.

“Tony.”

The brunette turned to him.

“Yeah?”

“Let me take you on a date,” Bucky offered, while Tony’s eyes widened a fraction.

“I-why?”

“Are you really askin’ me why?” he chuckled.

“Kind of sudden isn’t it?” Tony tested.

Bucky snorted and pushed a long strand of Tony’s hair away from his forehead.

“I like you Tony. First day we met. I dunno’ what it is, but I just wanna’ take you out on a date.”

“I’m not worth it,” he sighed.

“You’re worth it Tony. Let me prove it to you. I wanna’ get that not good enough feelin’ out of you. You deserve to feel like you’re good enough.”

Tony drew his bottom lip in, before worrying it between his teeth, eyes never leaving Bucky’s.

“Okay.”

“Really?” Bucky breathed out, sounding surprised.

“Yeah. I want to go on a date with you.”

“We’ll go out on Wednesday. Get you outside your room at six?” he suggested.

“Sounds perfect,” Tony hummed.

Bucky clenched his hands together, trying to dampen down the excitement that he was feeling, yet failing when he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. It reached up to his eyes, cheekbones rising up high as he gazed back out at the view.

“Hey, you wanna’ go grab somethin’ to eat?”

Tony groaned with content.

“Yes! I am _so_ hungry!”

“C’mon, I know the best place for a burger,” Bucky said.

He stood up to brush grass off of his jeans, before offering his hand out to Tony, hoisting him up gently. Tony grinned fondly as he scrubbed his hands over his face, wiping stray tear marks away, his journal held safely in the inside pocket of Bucky’s jacket. He decided to put his arms through the sleeves of the jacket, seeing Bucky look at him with a bout of affection in his eyes.

“Lead the way.”

Bucky and Tony walked down the hill together, then headed in the direction of the exit that wasn’t too far from where they’d been sitting. As they walked, Bucky looked down at Tony’s hand, before gingerly reaching out to lace his fingers through the brunette’s, his free hand tucked away in his pocket. Tony stole a glance at Bucky, while his fingers wrapped around Bucky’s hand in return, giving it a faint squeeze.

“You’re worth it too…” he whispered.

* * *

Tony arrived early for their date on Wednesday. They’d made plans for Bucky to drop by Tony’s room to get him, though those plans fell through when Bucky got caught up late in his literature class. It wasn’t that big of a deal for Tony, it gave him a chance to relax and push away a few doubts he was having. He hadn’t been on a date before, accepting a date from Bucky felt like a giant step for him, considering the amount of times he’s turned people down. But Bucky was something different, he gave off an energy that actually made Tony believe that he wasn’t going to screw him over like everybody else had.

A sudden low hum of an engine drew Tony’s attention away from his thoughts, and to the sidewalk where a motorbike pulled up the the curb. The rider pushed their visor up, revealing their eyes which fell steadily on Tony, who raised a questioning eyebrow. It wasn’t until the helmet was gone that he realised it was Bucky, shaking his hair roughly to get rid of the wild mess from wearing the helmet. Tony stared back at him, mouth agape as he tried to form a sentence, that only fell dead on his tongue if he even tried to mutter it. Bucky looked too damn breathtaking in the leather jacket Tony had the opportunity to wear yesterday, and dark stonewash jeans.

“Hi!” Bucky called, waving Tony over.

Bucky wrapped his arms around Tony in a welcoming embrace, pressing a light kiss to his temple as Tony snaked his arms around Bucky’s waist.

“Hey Buck.”

“Sorry we had to meet up instead of what we planned,” he sighed.

“It’s okay, at least you’re here.”

Bucky’s mouth turned up at the corner into a smirk.

“Wouldn’t miss it, gorgeous.”

Tony’s cheeks went a deep shade of red.

“Shit, I forgot-”

Bucky paused as he turned back to his motorbike, opening the satchel he had attached on the side of it.

“...these are for you.”

He held up a small arrangement of red roses, tied together with gold ribbon and gold paper surrounding them. Tony’s eyes went wide as he took the roses and held them up to his nose, breathing in the subtle smell, the roses contrasting with the colour of his cheeks.

“These are beautiful Bucky.”

“I also fixed these for you. You left your journal in my jacket last night and I picked up your backpack from class,” the brunette said, holding out Tony’s journal and backpack.

Tony leant forward to kiss Bucky on the cheek, barely skimming the corner of his mouth, before pulling back with a pleased smile.

“Thank you.”

The brunette shrugged as he bit down on his lip.

“Told you I’d prove that you’re worth it.”

“Well, you’ve got all night handsome,” Tony drawled.

“Hmm, you wanna’ go ahead and call me that again.”

Bucky put one arm around Tony’s waist, pulling him in closer to rest his forehead on Tony’s. Their noses brushed each other’s as Tony leant in, breath ghosting on Bucky’s lips, which elicited a breathy chuckle from Bucky. He squeezed Tony’s hip gently, then let go, taking a small step back, much to Tony’s disappointment.

“So what are we doing first?” he asked.

“Ice skating,” Bucky answered, pointing over Tony’s shoulder.

Tony peered over his shoulder to see an outdoor ice skating rink behind them, lit up by multicoloured lights streaming down from the main building. It gave it a different atmosphere instead of giant spotlights aiding skaters in seeing where they were going around the rink. Music was playing as some skaters glided across the ice in time with it, while others were shrieking and laughing when one of them took a tumble to the ice.

“I love ice skating!”

Bucky laughed heartily.

“I know, you told me when we were at the beach. So I thought this would be a great place to start.”

“You’re starting to impress me Barnes,” Tony chimed.

“Hey! I thought I was impressing you when we first met!”

“Don’t forget who won bowling,” he retorted.

“That’s a low blow Stark,” Bucky grumbled.

Tony grinned wickedly.

“I’m sorry, honey.”

He looked at the gleam in Bucky’s eyes after using the endearing word, his smile wide and carefree. Bucky held his hand out to Tony, beaming happily when he took it immediately, stroking his thumb over the brunette’s knuckles.

“C’mon, let’s go.”

The pair walked hand in hand towards the rink, indulging themselves in some small talk before stopping at an open window to pick up skates. Bucky carried both of theirs until they found a seating area where Tony could put his backpack and the roses down safely. He sat down beside Bucky, exhaling deeply as he sagged back against the seat.

“I’m tired already, can we go home?” he joked.

Bucky snorted loudly, as he pecked a kiss on Tony’s cheek.

“No.”

Tony took the red skates sitting beside him and bent down to put them on, only to straighten back up when Bucky grabbed his sides to tickle him.

“B-Bucky s-stop!” he cackled, lightly swatting the brunette with his hand.

Bucky burst into laughter when he was tickled back, before throwing his arms around Tony, bringing him in closer to his side, propping his chin on Tony’s shoulder.

“You’ll let me know if I’m bein’ too affectionate yeah? Don’t wanna’ make you uncomfortable.”

“Yeah, I will. But, I’m kind of enjoying it right now,” Tony hummed.

“Good. I’ll see you out on the ice.”

“Just leave me here! All alone! Thanks Bucky!” he replied, sarcastically.

Tony watched Bucky walk over to an entrance to the rink, smiling when Bucky glided onto the ice with ease. He finished lacing up his skates and headed for the entrance, waiting for a mother and son to pass before he skated towards the middle of the rink. The cold from the ice tickled his skin, as he took his time in finding a steady pace to skate at, cautious of multiple others around him.

“Hey good lookin’.”

An arm wrapped around Tony’s waist, which he immediately recognised as Bucky’s by the way the brunette’s hand splayed out against his hip.

“Hi, you come here often?”

“Classic pick up lines huh?” Bucky laughed.

“It worked, didn’t it?”

Bucky hummed in amusement.

“If you say so.”

They skated in sync with each other once Tony had put his arm around Bucky, tucking his hand under Bucky’s jacket, fingers rubbing up and down his side. Bucky would end up pulling Tony in closer to his side, hips bumping one another’s whenever they went around a turn on the ice. Tony still couldn’t figure out how or why they connected so well, but he was going to enjoy it for however long these moments decided to last. He got to overlook the picturesque city of Cambridge with Bucky, the most kindhearted guy he’d ever had the good fortune of knowing.

“Beautiful night,” Tony spoke up.

“It is. I usually come here to skate on my own. Makes it a whole lot better with you here Tony.”

Tony saw the sincerity in Bucky’s eyes when they met his, mouth shaped into a somewhat sad smile. It only made him question how long Bucky had gone on feeling lonely without some companionship. Of course, he had his friends, but with how things had been the past few days, Tony could read Bucky like a book. Bucky desired someone he could care for that leapt over the boundaries of friendship.

“I can come here any time you want.”

Bucky smiled happily as he slid his hand down to Tony’s hand and put some distance between them, fingers entwined tightly through Tony’s. He began skating backwards, swaying himself in time with the intro of a new song that played loudly from the speakers. Tony then took Bucky’s other hand that he’d held out to him, following his movements to the beat of the music. It was slow and dreamy, allowing the pair to drift over the ice, their eyes only focused on each other.

_Then I look at you_

_And the world's alright with me_

_Oh just one look at you_

_Just one look at you_

_Just one look at you_

_And I know it's gonna be a lovely day_

Tony moved away from Bucky at one point, prompting Bucky to skate around him, arms snaking around him from behind. Bucky’s face was buried into the crook of Tony’s neck, drawing a hushed chuckle out of Tony who placed his hand over Bucky’s, letting his fingers dance over his knuckles.

“You’re good enough Tony. Promise I’m gonna’ tell you that everyday,” Bucky whispered.

“Y’know, I’m starting to believe you. You’ve been nothing but good to me since I got here Bucky. And it doesn’t matter to me that we’ve only know each other since last Friday...everything feels _right_ with you.”

Both of them slowed down, stopping in the middle of the rink where nobody else was skating. Bucky was holding Tony steady, his hands resting on his hips, breath ghosting against the back of Tony’s neck and the shell of his ear.

“I feel that way too...”

Tony spun around to face Bucky, meeting his gaze with zero hesitation and a slight boost of confidence that surfaced suddenly.

“Kiss me,” he breathed out.

Bucky’s brain shorts for a moment, before thinking _‘fuck it, what could go wrong?’._ Nothing did, because when he closed the distance and their lips meet, it’s like nothing else around them is important. Tony’s lips are supple against his, even though the kiss is only chaste to begin with, it’s still very much how Bucky pictured it. But he needs, _no,_ wants more so his hands find the curve of Tony’s jaw to tilt his head, part his lips, and kiss him deeper. There’s a soft gasp from Tony, low in his throat as his hands grasp the lapels of Bucky’s jacket, drawing him in until their hips touch. He can hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears, it’s the kind of feeling he’s never felt but wanted to.

When they parted from the kiss, their foreheads bumped together lightly, while trying to catch their breath. Bucky’s eyes were hooded, gazing at Tony with adoration as he lifted his thumb up, grazing it across Tony’s bottom and top lip, before pressing a quick, tender kiss to them again. Then Tony lost his balance for a mere second, though Bucky’s reflexes acted, arms grabbing him in an embrace as they howled with laughter. It eventually simmered to muffled chuckles as they stared back at each other, faces flushed with incandescent smiles.

“That was-” Bucky paused, shaking his head.

“Are you lost for words Barnes?” Tony teased.

“Yeah a little,” he replied.

Tony gasped.

“That’s a first.”

Bucky’s nose scrunched up as he snorted.

“Don’t be rude.”

“I wasn’t!” the brunette protested.

“Uh-huh.”

Tony’s stomach let out a grumble before he could reply to Bucky, his head falling forward onto Bucky’s chest as he stifled a laugh against his shirt.

“Feed me,” Bucky said, in a high pitched voice, while swaying Tony from side to side in his arms.

“Shut up, jerk.”

Bucky hummed and planted a kiss on Tony’s forehead.

“C’mon, let’s go grab some pizza. My shout,” he offered.

“I can’t let you pay for _everything_ on this date.”

The brunette hung his head a little.

“Well, I want to. So I’m gonna’ do it.”

Tony reached for his hand while they skated back to the entrance of the rink, sharing several kisses along the way. It became a relaxed atmosphere for both of them after their first kiss together, like a weight lifted off and dispersed itself around them to create a perfect balance. Bucky felt like he was on cloud nine already, Tony was unlike anybody he’d ever met before, someone that just seemed to capture his attention and keep it that way for a long time. He’s going through so many thoughts that he doesn’t hear Tony talking while they take their skates off to return them.

“Bucky?”

“Huh?” he drawled, turning his head to look at Tony.

“You were somewhere else for a second there.”

The grin on Tony’s face was _honest to god_ intoxicating to Bucky, prompting him to scoot closer, cup the back of his neck and kiss him again. Tony sighed against Bucky’s mouth, his grin only widening into the kiss, as well as making Bucky return that grin too.

“Sorry sweetheart. You’re a little distractin’.”

“A good distraction I hope,” Tony murmured, bumping his nose against Bucky’s.

“Mhm. For sure.”

“So...about that food,” he added.

Bucky snickered and pushed Tony back.

“Is food a way to your heart huh?”

Tony nodded.

“For the most part. The other part is just being how you are now.”

After leaving their skates back at the hut where they’d retrieved them, Bucky led Tony down a short alleyway that took them to the pizza shop. It was hidden away from the main shopping district of the city, Tony figuring out that maybe only those who went ice skating found out about it. Inside it was clean from top to bottom, but also welcoming, with alternative rock playing on a retro style stereo and some snazzy decor to compliment it all. Upon approaching the counter, Tony could see pizza's ready and waiting in a hotbox, the steam rising off of them in thick wisps, causing Tony’s stomach to growl even more.

“Hello Bucky.”

Bucky lifted his hand to wave at the man who stepped up to the counter, apron wrapped tight around his waist. Tony hadn’t even noticed he’d appeared, but he was tall, with dark eyes and dark hair. He’d be intimidating to Tony if it weren’t for the bright smile on a stubble clad face that he was greeting them with. There was also a hint of a Russian accent to his voice as well.

“Tony this is Anatoli,” Bucky informed.

“Is nice to meet you, Tony.”

Tony shook Anatoli’s hand.

“Likewise.”

He hears Anatoli slip into Russian for a moment, directing it towards Bucky.

_“Your date?”_

_“Yes, please don’t embarrass me.”_

Anatoli had a Cheshire grin on his face, before turning to Tony.

“You know. I’m surprised Bucky not tell you he work here.”

“Uh, _worked_ here,” Bucky interjected.

“One day. You work one day!” Anatoli accused. “He drop pizza base on his head, twice,” he added.

Tony barked a laugh as Bucky groaned.

“Anatoli!”

Anatoli shrugged.

“What? Is true. You worst pizza maker.”

“Thanks buddy,” Bucky groused.

“I only tell truth. Now, what pizza you want?”

Bucky glanced over at Tony.

“Babe, you wanna’ pick?”

“Sure,” Tony chirped, scanning his eyes over the varieties of pizza available.

“This one very hot. Like you,” Anatoli chimed in, pointing to a pizza laden with jalapenos.

“Hey! Don’t hit on my date,” Bucky exclaimed, with a chuckle following after.

“No fun Bucky, no fun,” he sniped.

Tony smiled smugly.

“That one sounds good, we’ll take one of those.”

Anatoli gently slapped the top of the counter.

“Is good man.”

Bucky sidled up to Tony.

“We can walk along the boardwalk and eat, if you want.”

“Alright, good idea,” he answered.

“Okay, here you go. Firebreather pizza!” Anatoli called, appearing at the counter again.

“How much pal?”

“No no. Is on house,” he said.

“You’re just tryin’ to be nice ‘cause Tony’s here.”

Anatoli smirked coyly.

“You look after him. Or I do it for you.”

Bucky scoffed as Tony elicited an involuntary giggle, his cheeks burning red hot.

“Goodnight Anatoli!” the brunette shouted, from the door he held open for Tony.

“Goodnight Bucky. Come back soon da?”

Back out in the cold alleyway, Tony shivered, before tugging his jacket around himself with his free hand, the other holding onto the pizza box. Bucky put his arm around Tony as they walked down to the boardwalk, flicking the lid of the pizza box open to pick up a slice. He took a large bite out of it, licking the corner of his mouth with his tongue to grab a stray piece of cheese that got stuck there. Tony could only smile at him, taking a slice of his own, a delighted little moan slipping from his mouth at how delicious the pizza was.

They ate in silence on their walk, stealing glances at one another and feeding each other bites of pizza along the way. The view and the ambience added an extra sense of relaxation to the walk, bright stars sparkling in the sky, the moon reflecting off the water. Somewhere along the way, the scarf Tony had been wearing found its way around Bucky's neck after he issued a small complaint about feeling a chill on his neck. In turn, Bucky let Tony have his gloves he wore when he rode his motorbike. His hands looked nice in leather, sending a few thoughts to Bucky's head that he'd keep to himself, _for now._

When they'd discarded of the pizza box, they stopped by a store to grab something to drink, tongues feeling hot from a jalapeño overload. Tony faired better than Bucky, given the fact that most of the dinners he enjoyed with Maria always had a pinch of spice to them. They stopped near a part of the boardwalk that opened to a seating area, lit up by one measly street light, casting a shadow over some of the benches. It was there that Tony, put his backpack aside, leant against the railing, then pulled on the hem of his scarf, bringing Bucky in to kiss him. Bucky's hands fell on the railing, gradually moving to Tony's hips, kissing him with tender pecks and ones that dragged out for long lengths of time.

“I have something for you,” Tony said, breathlessly.

“Yeah?” Bucky replied, with one raised eyebrow in curiosity.

Tony fished something out of the deep pockets inside his jacket, holding out a sturdy, leather journal to Bucky.

“ _Tony…_ ”

He said his name with such _feeling_ that it made Tony's heart skip a beat.

“You said you like to write, and draw. This works as both. Half the pages are lined for writing and the other half are blank for drawing,” he explained.

Bucky exhaled a shaky breath, his eyes glossing over with tears that didn't spill, lips trembling as he tried to stop a strained sob from escaping,

“Tony it's beautiful. Seriously, this is gonna’ go with me everywhere.”

Tony's eyes lit up like he'd just been told the best news of his life.

“I was worried it'd be too much.”

“Too much? No, Tony it's perfect,” Bucky choked out.

He hugged Tony closely, face buried into the crook of his neck as Tony slid his hand up and down Bucky’s back, soft kisses being peppered to the curve of his jaw.

“I want to be on the first page of drawings,” Tony murmured.

Bucky’s laugh was muffled by Tony’s shoulder.

“I’ll draw you when we get back to the dorms.”

“Sounds promising,” he whispered, moving his head back to stare up at Bucky.

“You wanna’ bunk in with me tonight?”

The hushed purr in Bucky’s tone sent a shiver up Tony’s spine.

“ _Yes._ ”

Suddenly, Tony’s phone rang in his pocket, disturbing their peace as Tony pulled back with an annoyed grunt.

“Sorry,” he apologised.

“It’s okay. I’ll wait for you up there, we’re goin’ to the arcade next,” Bucky said, pointing to the end of the boardwalk that led out into the city again.

Tony gave a nod, his eyes fixed on Bucky walking away, before he grabbed his phone out of his pocket. The caller ID on the screen made him flinch, brows furrowed at seeing Howard’s name flashing at him. He averted his eyes and looked back at Bucky, watching him kick a stone across the pathway then rested against the railing. Bucky also looked over at him, shooting him a warming smile, filled with so much happiness to send Tony’s heart racing again. It was there that he knew _this_ was more important than any phone call from Howard. So, he rejected the call, stuffed his phone back in his pocket and sauntered over to Bucky, who met him with an open hand for him to take.

“Who was it?”

Tony tilted his head up to kiss Bucky with fervour, drawing back with an amused smirk.

“No one important…”


End file.
